constipation

Argh. You're probably going to hate me for saying this, but right now I envy those of you with diarrhea lol.

I've always suffered more constipation than anything but do of course get d from time to time too. I've not been feeling 100% for a little while now, I've been having to take senna for approx a week or so now just to get the slightest thing moving. The doctor put me on a short taper if pred for 9 days and its really made everything 10 times worse today is day 5 or 6 now and nothing. I feel ridiculously full and sick and gross and in pain lol its even causing ridiculous headaches. I've tried senna and sachets of everything mum even tried to make me try Epsom salt but that almost made me puke lol. I want to vomit so bad probably not helped by the pred either no nausea stuff is helping I just need some relief :(

Any advice please. Just want to feel relief! And maybe drop 5 lbs lol

Hi novice....you sound like me. I tend to get constipated often. Try combining Miralax with the senna. It may send you in the other direction, but it will clean you out. You can take the Miralax multiple times a day if you are really in bad shape. I use Senokot C, which is senna with colace, a stool softener. Senna can be irritating to your intestines, so you need to be really careful with it. Miralax is a much safer choice, but isn't as effective for me when it gets really bad. I get really bad headaches too when I'm very constipated. Once you get everything settled, you may want to try slowly adding fiber pills like psyllium, metamucil or citrucel to your daily regimen....don't do it until you have resolved this bout of constipation, and add it very slowly or it will cause bloating. Good luck!

I'm totally with you novice. Until April, I've always had to deal with diarrhea, but I'm now entering my fourth month of major constipation, which landed me in the ER in early May. I now take Miralax every day--I started with the daily recommended dose and now take 1.5x the daily dose (I found that more caused me to feel quite horrible for a couple days). It's frustrating for me because I eat a very healthy, high fiber diet too, which should have things moving. I'm starting to near the point where I was feeling prior to my ER trip in May again, so today I'm doing a pseudo cleanse (magnesium citrate, which is a laxative they sometimes have you take before a colonoscopy).

I've always hated the diarrhea part of this disease, but after the last few months, I am developing a whole new hatred for the constipation side of it--always feeling like you have to go but not being able to, feeling bloated, gaining weight, having to strain every time. I don't know which one is worse, but they both suck.

I hope the Miralax works for you. Just know that it is not an immediate solution, as it is a stool softener, not a laxative, so it may take a couple days to get things moving more.

I just went! It was the smallest amount lol but a good sign I hope!

I know senna can discolor urine, can it also discolor the stool? Is probably just from being so blocked up but of course there was blood -.- need to be calling the doctors before they close now. This crapnever ends

Thanks. Strange how common this problem is yet the doctors don't seem to know what to do about it.

Have been drinking lots of hot drinks I always do though lol. Even drank half a Margarita last night in hopes of things moving but no such luck...

Am reluctant to try any more as am supposed to be camping for the weekend. I guess if things don't get moving tonight after another miralax I'll have to cancel and see if the doctor will prescribe me something stronger :(

Go to the local pharmacy and get a Fleet Enema and try that. Milk of Magnesia is over the counter also and might help. Good Luck

I also suffered from more C then D. I found that rice really made it worse. Probiotics and fish oil pills really helped me

I know I'm late to the thread but...

Argh. You're probably going to hate me for saying this, but right now I envy those of you with diarrhea lol.

No, I don't hate you. I've had loads of diarrhoea and loads of constipation at various stages of my life (at different times obviously) and I would have chosen to live with diarrhoea over constipation every single time.

When did you last go, properly? (Not just a tiny amount, which, if liquid, is probably just 'overflow' diarrhoea getting past the mass of solid faeces in your rectum/colon). If it's a week or longer, I'm tempted to suggest going to ER and getting checked out for faecal impaction. I have had that, and it was the grimmest thing ever. In my case, I would get massive urges to go but couldn't because.. well, my rectum was blocked with hardened stool. (Apologies for TMI.) If you are not getting any urges to go, then the stool will be backed up further in your colon.

On a different note your doctors don't sound like they have a clue what they are doing! Prescribing a 9-day course of steroids for Crohn's is just dumb. It's better to stay off 'roids altogether, but if you are going to do a course at least make it long enough to stand a chance of getting better. Anyway, my advice is to taper at 5mg a week and get off the Pred. Even if symptoms return, it's just better to get off the Pred (and if you literally can't function without Pred, that's usually an indication for surgery, tbh).

I said that Pred-dependency was an indication for sugery, not constipation - a different thing. Your sig says 9mg Entocort - that's equivalent to almost 40mg Pred. Are you still on the Entocort?

Who wanted you to take Pred initially? At first I thought it was you, but now I re-read your post I can't tell... If it was your doc who wanted you to take it, for future reference you can just refuse.

You went 3 months without a BM?? Has Colonic Inertia been suggested or tested for?

Pred 'worked' for me, but in the narrowest sense of that word. Steroids got me out of severe flare-ups and out of hospital a few times, but my colon was still severely diseased for the whole time I was on them, and I still had to have it removed in the end.

I wasn't some weird anomaly; Pred doesn't promote healing. In fact it impairs wound-healing, which is why steroid-use is considered a risk factor for having surgery.

Yeah, hospitals are atrocious about sending on medical records. I just wish they kept everything on a central database, so all hospitals had access to the same info.

Colonic inertia is when the muscles/nerves of the colon stop working, and so the colon can't move faeces along normally. You can have a sitz marker test done, which is basically swallowing a pill with special markers which show up on an x-ray and then having x-rays over the course of a few days to track its progress. There are people on the Ostomy board on this site who have had a colectomy because of colonic inertia. Don't worry, you don't have to have surgery, it's entirely optional. But 3 months without a BM is not right; people with 'normal' constipation still usually manage to go once or twice a week.

Edit: Sorry, just saw your edit >_>. I wouldn't go by the barium meal test, especially if it was done a while ago. If I was in your shoes, I would ask for the test I described, a sitz marker test (there are other tests, but that is the simplest one, I think).

The blood could be due to straining too much or to the Crohn's - impossible to know from your post :-/

You can only do your best, but I agree: it's horrible not knowing what the best thing to do is. I hate the uncertainty and worry which goes with it all. Was hoping to get a break from health worries for a few years after surgery, but so far that hasn't happened, unfortunately.

Just take it one step at a time. That's all you can do, really. Also, don't be afraid to ask questions and request tests. I was passive for way too many years, because I never really liked dealing with doctors - I always felt nervous and wanted to be out of the consulting room. Unfortunately, that doesn't get the best care or treatment. As long as you are not actively dying in front of them, most doctors are happy to sit back and not investigate further unless you push for it.

Late to the convo & if I'm out of line you can just scold me (and tomorrow we'll be great new Crohn-ies just like it never happened)...
Are you on any narcots/pain meds, anti spazmotics, etc. that could be stopping things up further? Just a thought.

Also to the question in an earlier reply about if senna can cause dicoloration, that I do not know... But, FYI regular use or frequent use over a short period of time, can cause 'staining' of the bowel. (Not that I'm altogether certain that it is a top issue on our list of concerns, just one of many odd facts I'd accumulated over many years of spending too much time in MD's offices).

Also, thanks...
No one ever told me that other Crohn's people get C & not just D. (There's a lot of specific facts I missed as I was only diagnosed 19 months ago, after going undiagnosed for 19 years, but if you want random facts, I'm your girl.)

I truly hope your condition improves rapidly. I hope everyone here does. It's pretty great to have people to be able to discuss this whole world of meds, symptoms, foods, emotions, etc with. My thanks to each of you.

Nicole (32, diagnosed Oct 2011, onset Feb 1992)